Virotec Global Solutions has entered into an agreement with Tas Paper Pty Ltd, to conduct one of its largest environmental remediation projects to date: the demolition, sorting, treatment and disposal of mercury contaminated waste at a large recently closed Paper Mill at Burnie, Australia.
This is the third large-scale project implemented for Tas Paper by Virotec in the last 2 years, all of which involved the treatment and disposal of mercury contaminated waste.
Read more →Virotec Global Solutions today entered into an agreement to conduct one of its largest environmental remediation projects to date: the demolition, sorting, treatment and disposal of mercury contaminated waste at a large recently closed industrial site owned by PaperlinX in Australia. The project, which begins in late September and will be completed by late November, will involve Virotec sub-contracting a portion of the demolition and asbestos treatment and removal work to McMahon Services of South Australia (www.mcmahon-services.com.au ).
Daniel Blair, Virotec’s General Manager explained that “we conducted a water treatment project at the site in 2003-2004, and have now been engaged to complete the larger task of demolishing the contaminated sections of the building, excavating concrete and disused tanks, carefully sorting all forms of waste, which includes concrete, steel, timber, bricks, soil and other contaminated solids, pulverising concrete and bricks on site, and then treating the waste solids, as many have high levels of mercury bound tightly into the solid matrix of the demolition waste. Asbestos is also present in the building, and special precautions have been taken to ensure that all aspects of the project conform to strict health and safety standard.”
Further soil sampling after the initial phases of demolition have been completed may also result in mercury contaminated soil being excavated, treated and safely disposed. Of particular interest is the process of waste sorting on site, such that the different waste streams will be carefully graded and grouped in order to maximise and facilitate treatment and recycling regimes and methods.
McMahon Services will have a team of six professionals on site for the duration of the project, as well as heavy equipment, such as a 45 tonne excavator; Virotec will project manage all phases of the project, including materials sorting, waste transfer and treatment, and disposal. The project is expected to take a total of eight weeks on site and a further four weeks to complete treatment and disposal.
In the past Virotec has delivered similar projects, however on a smaller scale. Mr Blair went on to explain that “this is one of the largest projects of its kind where Virotec has been contracted to manage all facets of the demolition, treatment and disposal of a building on this scale. Virotec believes that several projects of a similar scale will be secured in Australia during the next 18 months, and we look forward to working with the McMahon team of professionals on future projects of this nature. We are particularly gratified to add the safe treatment of asbestos, along with mercury, to our suite of services”
Read more →Virotec Global Solutions is pleased to announce that it has entered into a contract valued in excess of $700,000 to treat mercury-contaminated filter cake using its patented ViroFlow™ Technology for one of Australia’s largest smelting companies. The contract will last for three months, during which time approximately 700 tonnes of drummed filter cake sludge will be shipped to Queensland for treatment at Virotec’s treatment facility.
The filter cake, a thickened but wet industrial solid generated as a result of dewatering waste liquid from the smelting process, contains up to 5% mercury, and must be treated in a way that no more than 0.1 mg/L of mercury (0.1 part per million) is leachable using standard TCLP measures as a result of treatment. As Virotec has repeatedly treated solid industrial waste with similar levels of total metals, and has routinely treated such hazardous waste to levels as low as 0.01 mg/L. the company is confident that this application of ViroFlow™ Technology will be extremely successful.
Once the filter cake has been treated and analysed for results, the solid material will be in a dry and inert form from which less than 0.1 mg/L of mercury can be removed from the solid, even under extreme leaching procedures designed to mimic reducing conditions in a landfill over the 20 year period. This dry material will be disposed of in one of Queensland’s state-of-the-art landfills.
Dr Lee Fergusson, Virotec’s Chief Executive Officer, noted that “we are extremely satisfied with our work in treating contaminated industrial filter cake, and this project will build upon past experience and results. While the project is challenging in terms of logistics, given that 700 tonnes of waste needs to be packaged, safely transported, stored, received and treated, and properly disposed of, our technology has proven particularly robust yet flexible to meet the needs of customers with this type of waste. In addition to that, the process is cost-effective, and we expect many more projects of this scale and type in the coming months and years.”
Read more →The Directors of Virotec Global Solutions Pty Ltd are pleased to announce that Virotec has entered into a contract to supply ViroFlow™ Technology solid waste treatment services to Nyrstar Hobart Pty Ltd (formerly part of Zinifex Ltd) (“Nyrstar”). The contract is to treat mercurous filter cake and is expected to generate up to AUD$3.5 Million in revenue. Work on the contract will commence in the first quarter of 2008 and is expected to be completed by the end of the fourth quarter of 2008.
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